1 00:00:00,180 --> 00:00:06,019 Spain, as you know, is a democracy, because in Spain people have the power. 2 00:00:06,019 --> 00:00:08,439 This is what our Constitution says. 3 00:00:08,439 --> 00:00:15,220 The Spanish Constitution was established in 1978, after a popular vote, a referendum, 4 00:00:15,220 --> 00:00:18,059 that was held the 6th of December. 5 00:00:18,059 --> 00:00:22,760 That's why the 6th of December, every year, we celebrate the Constitution Day. 6 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:25,379 But do you know what a Constitution is? 7 00:00:25,379 --> 00:00:28,300 A Constitution is the most important law in a country. 8 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:33,820 Spanish Constitution is our most important law because it establishes our rights and duties 9 00:00:33,820 --> 00:00:41,020 and it also tells us which are the basic rules of our coexistence in society, how our political 10 00:00:41,020 --> 00:00:48,380 system works. In the Constitution there is a special section devoted to our rights, but there 11 00:00:48,380 --> 00:00:54,219 are two types of rights in the Constitution, the fundamental rights that we have as human beings 12 00:00:54,219 --> 00:01:02,159 and the rights that belong to us as Spanish citizens. Fundamental rights belong to everyone 13 00:01:02,159 --> 00:01:10,239 because we're just human. They are also included in the constitution as well as in the universal 14 00:01:10,239 --> 00:01:15,939 declaration of human rights and they include rights such as the right to life, the right to 15 00:01:15,939 --> 00:01:21,980 free expression, the right to free thought, the right not to be tortured or the right not to be 16 00:01:21,980 --> 00:01:29,519 made a slave and also the political participation. Now, we also have rights as Spanish citizens, 17 00:01:29,879 --> 00:01:36,480 for example, the right to have private property or the right to work in decent conditions or the 18 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:49,530 right to create your own business. Rights are linked with duties. In a democracy, every right 19 00:01:49,530 --> 00:01:55,670 has a corresponding obligation. For example, we have the right to use public services like 20 00:01:55,670 --> 00:02:03,469 schools or hospitals or public transport, but this means we have to respect public property too. 21 00:02:04,250 --> 00:02:09,729 Some of these duties are especially important and they are included in the constitution. 22 00:02:10,210 --> 00:02:16,650 For example, we all have the duty to defend Spain. This means that we have to protect the 23 00:02:16,650 --> 00:02:25,590 democracy when it is at risk. For example, if we have a war, but also if we suffer a natural 24 00:02:25,590 --> 00:02:33,090 catastrophe or a serious problem that can threaten our social system of coexistence. 25 00:02:33,909 --> 00:02:38,830 There is another very important duty that we all have. It's the duty to pay our taxes. As you know, 26 00:02:38,949 --> 00:02:45,090 if we don't pay our taxes, we cannot fund public services like education or health system, 27 00:02:45,090 --> 00:02:49,610 so that it's extremely important that every citizen complies with this obligation. 28 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:56,400 The Spanish democracy is also a welfare state. 29 00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,699 Our constitution says that Spain is a social state. 30 00:03:01,060 --> 00:03:08,680 This means that we have the obligation to make sure that everybody has a decent standard of living. 31 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:16,020 That's why the Spanish constitution acknowledges the right of people to have a health care system, 32 00:03:16,020 --> 00:03:22,800 to have a free public education in the basic stages and also social security. 33 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:27,539 This is money that is used to help people in need, for example to pay for 34 00:03:27,539 --> 00:03:32,400 our pensions or to pay for the unemployed people that lost their jobs. 35 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:42,810 Nowadays Spain also belongs to a general project of a global democracy that is 36 00:03:42,810 --> 00:03:51,030 called the European Union. So Spain is part of a club of 27 countries that try 37 00:03:51,030 --> 00:03:58,289 to create a common area of freedom and of democracy. The European project began 38 00:03:58,289 --> 00:04:03,990 after the Second World War when some countries decided they would cooperate 39 00:04:03,990 --> 00:04:09,629 together in order to prevent future armed conflicts. The European project was 40 00:04:09,629 --> 00:04:18,430 a success and today it includes 27 countries. It is important that you know that since 1992 41 00:04:18,430 --> 00:04:27,629 with the Treaty of Maastricht, the European Union is an area of free circulation. This means that 42 00:04:27,629 --> 00:04:34,110 European citizens can move wherever they want within the European borders and they can also 43 00:04:34,110 --> 00:04:40,870 live in any country they want and also use a common currency, the euro. So the 44 00:04:40,870 --> 00:04:48,250 Treaty of Maastricht created the European citizenry. Today Europe is one 45 00:04:48,250 --> 00:04:56,350 of the most advanced and most progressive areas of the world. The 27 46 00:04:56,350 --> 00:05:02,810 European countries cooperate in areas such as economy, agriculture, education, 47 00:05:02,810 --> 00:05:09,290 environment and many other in order to create prosperity for their citizens. 48 00:05:09,290 --> 00:05:14,290 So being part of Europe has a lot of advantages for us. 49 00:05:14,290 --> 00:05:16,910 It also has some disadvantages. 50 00:05:16,910 --> 00:05:22,029 For example, countries have had to give up part of their sovereignty. 51 00:05:22,029 --> 00:05:26,970 This means that not everything can be decided within the national borders because many important 52 00:05:26,970 --> 00:05:30,029 decisions are taken at a European level. 53 00:05:30,029 --> 00:05:38,089 That's why some countries, like the UK, decided to leave, but the rest of the European countries 54 00:05:38,089 --> 00:05:46,310 think that the loss of national sovereignty is one minor problem that can be highly balanced 55 00:05:46,310 --> 00:05:53,089 by the great advantages that belonging to the European project can bring to us.